How to Handle a Crying Infant in the Car During Short Trips

Question

Our new son gets extremely distressed and cries inconsolably when we take short trips in the car. We've tried everything to soothe him, but nothing seems to work. How can we cope with this situation as parents and stay focused on driving safely?

Answer 1

Some ideas you may not have tried for the baby:

Maybe he's getting too much air, or too little.
Check to make sure sun isn't getting in his eyes.
Try running your errands at different times of the day.
Try vibrating the car seat with your hand.
Try having the non-driving adult sit in the back next to him.
For the distracted driving part, the best thing I've found is not to try to block everything out, but to intentionally dedicate a very rote part of your brain to the distraction. Try singing or talking to the baby, but something very repetitious you don't have to think about. Your brain sort of says, "Oh, he knows about the baby screaming so I don't have to keep interrupting him." Then focus on keeping your conscious attention on the road.

Answer 2

the last time this happened to me i called my mother on the phone. just having her presence helped the soul-wrenching that his crying causes me and i was able to focus on the road and tune him out. i couldn't hear her very well over speakerphone with him screaming, but just knowing she was there, singing old macdonald with me to try to calm him, left a large portion of brain calm and free to drive.